This invention relates to an apparatus for collecting particulate material, and more particularly to a mobile front-end loading apparatus for collecting particulate material from a roadway surface.
Street sweeping machines and front-end loader apparatus of various types are well-known in the art, as illustrated in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,053,233, Shira, Feb. 18, 1913 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,083,932, J. M. Himes, Jan. 13, 1914 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,212,183, Brumbaugh, Jan. 16, 1917 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,416,041, Liddle, May 16, 1922 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,801, Raimer, Jun. 2, 1970 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,677, Sides, Dec. 14, 1971 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,586, Kirkovich, Oct. 23, 1973 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,820, Swisher Jr. et al, Sept. 22, 1981
Most of the above patents disclose that it is old to utilize a rotary driven brush and a rearwardly and upwardly inclined conveyor belt on a mobile frame for sweeping, cleaning or picking up debris from a road surface beneath the frame and transferring the particulate material or debris to another location, such as a depository receptacle.
Although the Himes U.S. Pat. No. 1,083,932, discloses a pair of rotary brushes located fore and aft of each other, nevertheless, these brushes are designed to be used alternately, and are not designed to cooperate with each other.
The Swisher, Jr. et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,820 discloses a pair of rotary brushes for rotating about vertical axes in advance of the vehicle to form windrows and to guide the debris toward the front rotary feeder device.
Swisher Jr., et al also discloses a rotary feeder assembly 28 which apparently has transverse slats for picking up coarse material, and a rear rotary brush 280 which is designed to brush the road surface and pick finer debris. However, these two pick-up devices do not cooperate with each other.
None of the above references disclose a combination of a pair of rotary rake members having radially extending and interdigitating tines, much less such a pair of rotary rake members cooperating with a rotary brush member for picking up and discharging the particulate material.